Dreamwalker
by Rumielf
Summary: A new resident to Elm Street who has the power to walk into other's dreams finds that someone has been stepping into hers. In the beginning it's not so bad, but then she realizes what she has to do, even if it means losing him in her dreams forever. Chp 7
1. Default Chapter

_A/N and disclaimer: Ah, a revised first chapter. I'm trying to flesh it out as I get the inspiration and time. I own nothing but the characters of Julie, Doug, Jay, Beverly, and Joseph. The rest (Freddy, and the whole Nightmare on Elm Street universe) belong to Wes Craven. And I'm not making an money with this. I'm simply writing for the pleasure of writing._

* * *

"It's haunted, you know."

"What?" Julie turned to look at the stranger. He seemed youngish, perhaps around her age of 24 and was walking a small brown spaniel. He gestured to the broken down house that she had been staring at with his free hand.

"It's haunted. You'd do best to stay away from it."

"Who died here?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.

He shook his head. "It's not who died here. It's who lived here." She opened her mouth to ask another question but he cut her off. "Don't ask anything else. It's best that people forget." Then he turned and continued to walk down the street, almost hurrying away. Julie stared after him for a long moment, then sighed and pushed a stray bit of red hair back behind her ear. "Okay...," she said to herself. "Strange people here."

Julie turned back to study the boarded-up house. Haunted houses had always been a favorite mystery of hers and this one had caught her eye immediately. The strangest thing was that she could have sworn that she had seen this house before, in good condition. Even though the day was warm she gave a slight shiver. This place seemed vaguely familiar though she had just moved here two days ago. She walked up the sidewalk and pulled at the vines covering the house number. "1428," she breathed softly. "What secrets do you hold?"

Julie wondered if the restless nights were beginning to affect her thinking. Since the night before she and her Mom and come here her dreams had been...well...almost erotic. That in itself was quite odd since she usually dreamt of rather unimportant, daily things. The other strange thing was that she remembered them quite clearly. The man who had been in her dreams had not been what most would call handsome but she remembered his face and especially his eyes. She rather enjoyed dreaming of him. The only problem was that she woke in the morning still quite tired and reaching for a person that she had never met.

Finally she glanced at her watch and headed back down the sidewalk toward her new home. On the way she passed a street sign and glanced up only to make sure she was headed in the right direction. She was the newest resident on Elm Street.

"Mom, I'm home!" Julie called as she walked in the door. Boxes were piled everywhere. She cringed remembering that she was supposed to have unpacked a few already this morning and instead and been out exploring the neighborhood. A clanging sound from the back of the house caught her attention. She heard her mom's voice swearing for a few moments before calling out to her.

"I'm in the kitchen!"

Julie headed for the kitchen, weaving her way in and out of boxes. Finally she saw her mother, Beverly, sitting on the floor unpacking a box of pots and pans. "Well, I'm back."

"Anything interesting? Library? Stores?"

Julie grinned. "I found a haunted house."

He mother sighed. "Another one?"

"Hey, can I help it if every town has one?"

Beverly pulled a pot out of the box. "No, but you don't have to investigate each one. You could just leave it be."

Julie leaned against the wall. "My research doesn't hurt anyone or anything."

"So far the only the thing suffering is your love life."

"Mother!"

Beverly put a pan under the counter and grinned. "Hey, I just say what I see." She reached back into the box. "And I haven't seen a special man in your life for quite some time."

"It's not my fault no one has any interest in my research." She looked out the window, thinking about the man in her recent dreams. "Besides, I've got a feeling about this one. It's gonna turn up something interesting." She paused. "Well, I'm gonna go set up my computer. Call me if you need me." Julie turned and started to walk out.

"Oh, Julie!"

Julie poked her head back into the kitchen. "What?"

"Doug and Jay called. They said they'll be here tomorrow."

"Great!"

Beverly shook her head. "I can't believe you convinced them to come out from California just to help out."

Julie shrugged. "Hey, friends are friends no matter where you go. Besides, they can help me with my research."

"Enough with the haunted house!" She pointed out into the house. "Go unpack some boxes."

Julie saluted and left.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N and disclaimer: Welcome back! Now on to chapter 2. The usual disclaimers, I don't own Freddy or the NOES world, Wes Craven still does. I just own Julie, Beverly, Doug, Jay, Joseph and I'll get the other others in the next chapter. So, onward!_

* * *

The next day's evening found her, Doug, and Jay sitting on the porch of her new house.

"Another haunted house? You've only been here a couple of days." Doug sighed and mussed her hair.

"Hey, I was just looking at the place. This guy walks up and tells me it's haunted," Julie defended.

Jay looked over. "Who died there?"

She shook her head. "He said it's not who died there. It's who lived there. Then he left."

Doug sighed again. "Let me guess. You want to get started on this right away."

"How'd you figure that one out?" she replied sarcastically.

"Well," Doug said, standing, "where to first?"

Julie picked up her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. "First we head over to that haunted house. I want to pick up some things."

"And we're the lookouts?"

"Precisely."

The trio walked along the sidewalk in almost silence. Then Jay spoke up. "Do you still dreamwalk?

Julie nodded, looking at her feet. "Yeah. It's still odd walking into strange people's dreams and then meeting them on the street."

"Can you still walk into ours?" Doug asked.

"I suppose so now that you two are closer to me. Distance is a factor. Don't ask me why." She paused for a moment. "Umm, I've been having the same man in my dreams since we moved here."

Jay looked at her. "Is he threatening?"

She shook her head. " No, it's more like I have feelings for him. It's hard to describe."

"Try."

"Okay. He's about 6 feet tall with short brownish-blonde hair. He's got a rather ordinary face but his eyes…" she shivered. "His eyes gleam like knives."

"And you like this?" Doug asked, curiously.

"I don't know why but I'm really attracted to him."

"I always knew you were weird," Doug said with a laugh.

Jay looked at her curiously. "Are you still on your meds?"

She nodded. "All five. Every night."

Doug put his hand on her shoulder. "Does the Geodon still knock you out?

"For about 4 hours solid. You still can't wake me during that."

The trio walked in silence for a few minutes.

"So, you like this place?" Jay asked.

"What? Springwood? I guess. I haven't been here long enough to form an opinion." Julie pointed to the boarded up house on the right. "There it is."

Doug shivered as they came to a stop in front of it. "Place gives me the creeps."

Julie patted his shoulder. "Luckily you don't have to come inside. Just call out if you see a cop coming." She smiled at the two of them then jogged up the path. Curious, she pulled at the door just to see if it would open. To her surprise it did. More than ever she wanted to find out about this house. Inside she didn't see any of the usual crap she'd come to associate with haunted houses. No broken bottles or cans. No mattresses or remains of food. No one had violated this house. _Why?_ she thought. She realized that the house was basically the same setup as her own. She wandered to where she thought the kitchen ought to be and was rewarded in a few moments.

As gently as she could she pulled open drawers and rummaged around for anything that might have names or dates on it. She found a gas bill almost immediately. She looked at the name up top. "Fred Krueger," she read aloud. Quickly she put it in her bag. She poked through other drawers and came up with a water bill for the same time period. She wandered upstairs carefully, fearful of a rotted step. But breathed a sigh of relief when she was at the top.

The smaller bedroom was first on the left. She stepped inside and smiled. It had been a child's room. "Probably around 4 or 5, and a girl," she said out loud, looking around. There were many dolls, some of the porcelain, a few stuffed animals and a couple of drawing taped to the walls. She took one of the drawings down and studied the name. "Katherine." The drawing joined the bills in her bag. Then she moved on toward the master bedroom.

She took a few steps inside the bedroom toward the bed and nightstand. Suddenly her foot crunched on something. She backed up and looked down. It was a picture frame. Julie picked it up and studied the picture. There was an unsmiling woman holding a little girl. "Must be Katherine," she said under her breath. Then she looked at the man and froze. "How…" she was without words. It was the man from her dreams. He was smiling in the picture but the smile looked…evil somehow. And his eyes were sharp, like an eagle's. "You have to be Fred Krueger," she whispered. "Why are you in my dreams?" As she stared at the picture she heard a man's voice, whispering. _"Find me."_ She looked up, startled. Then shook her head and put the picture in the bag.

The sound of paper rustling caught her attention and she turned toward the sound. A scrapbook sat on top of the dresser, the pages blowing in the wind from the open window. She flipped through it quickly. It was filled with articles about missing and dead children. The last half was empty. She put it in her bag as well then walked over to the window. She brushed aside the curtains and looked out at the backyard. It was a mess of weeds and brush. A set of cellar doors caught her attention but even from here she could see the padlock.

"Julie! Let's hurry it up!" Doug called from the front yard.

"I'm coming. I'm coming," she muttered turning away from the window and heading downstairs. At the foot of the stairs she paused and then walked to where her cellar door would be. Sure enough there was a door. But this too had a padlock on it. "Damn," she said, snapping her fingers.

"Jules! Let's go!"

"Coming," she called and walked to the front door. Once outside she walked over to Doug and Jay.

"Find anything good?" Jay asked patting her backpack.

"You won't believe it. You really won't believe it." She smiled. "Come on, let's go back home and start working on names and dates. Then we'll head to the library." They nodded and the three of them set off back down Elm Street.

* * *

_A/N again: Just in case any of you were wondering about the medication Geodon, it does actually exist. It's a psychiatric med that in a medium sized dose will knock most people out solid for about 4 hours where they can't be woken up before slipping into normal sleep for another few hours. _


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N and disclaimer: I actually have something with chapters! How neat! So...chapter 3 of Dreamwalker. I'm kinda proud. Hopefully by the time that I get to the part in the middle that I haven't written yet I'll get more inspiration. :smiles: Again, I own nothing but the characters of Julie, Doug, Jay, Beverly, and Joseph. The rest (Freddy, and the whole Nightmare on Elm Street universe) belong to Wes Craven. And I'm not making an money with this. I'm simply writing for the pleasure of writing. _

* * *

Julie sat on the floor of her room and started to empty her bag. "I found a couple of bills. Apparently the last owner of the house was a Fred Krueger," she said, passing the bills to Doug and Jay. "And this," she said holding out the drawing. Doug took it from her. "And I did run across this," she continued, pulling out the scrapbook.

"Hey, neat," Jay said picking it up. "This should help."

Julie reached back into the bag. "And finally, this." She pulled out the picture. Doug took it from her.

"Creepy guy," he said with a shiver.

Julie nodded. "But I have to tell you, I've seen him before."

Jay looked up from the scrapbook. "Where?"

"In my dreams."

Doug pointed to the picture. "You mean, this is the guy?"

"Positive."

"Julie, you've got some weird taste."

She smacked Doug on the arm. "Thanks a lot."

Jay spoke up, interrupting them. "Not all these articles are about children. This one's about his wife."

Julie leaned over and read aloud. "Krueger woman still missing. Loretta Krueger, wife of Fred Krueger has been reported missing since Tuesday of last week." She looked up at the guys. "So his wife disappeared? Freaky." She motioned toward the book. "See if there's a follow-up article in there." Jay nodded and went back to flipping through the book.

"Did it say if they have any leads?" Doug asked.

"Not in that one. It's like she vanished without a trace. I wonder if she was ever found."

"Found something," Jay piped up.

"About his wife? Did they find her?"

"No, this one's about his daughter, Katherine. It says they took her from his custody and put her in the orphanage."

Julie shook her head. "Poor guy. First his wife, then his daughter. That had to have been rough."

Doug leaned over. "Are the rest of those articles about missing and dead children?"

"Looks like it."

Doug looked at Julie. "Why would anyone keep all those articles?"

"Do you think he had something to do with it?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Guys, most of the kids articles are after the one about his daughter."

The three of them looked at each other. Julie nodded. "Okay, we head to the library. Look up newspaper articles from, when was it?"

"1966-67," Jay supplied.

"Good. We'll check this out." She put the bills and the scrapbook back in her bag. Then she picked up the picture. She pulled it out of the frame and slipped it in her pocket. Doug looked at her.

"Is there a reason you're doing that?"

"Not a one. But it makes me feel a little less crazy knowing he was real. Let's go tomorrow. I need some sleep."

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Julie sat on the bed and pulled five pill bottles out of the drawer. She set them one by one on the table. She shook a total of ten into her hand and swallowed them all with a drink of water.

"Damn medication. I wish I was off it." She put the pill bottles away and turned off the light. Quickly she crawled under the covers and waited for the sedatives to take effect. "Where are you, Freddy?"

Julie stood in the master bedroom of the Krueger house looking at the curtains blowing in the night wind. She looked down at herself and saw she was wearing her black nightshirt. "I'm dreaming," she said to herself. She walked barefoot to the window and looked out. Then she felt the lightest touch of fingers on her shoulders. She sighed. "Who are you," she whispered, feeling the fingers run down her arms.

"Find me," came the voice behind her.

"I did find you. You're Fred Krueger. This is your house."

"You have to find me."

"Why is it so important?"

She felt hot breath in her ear. "I'll tell you when you find me," he whispered. His hands stole into hers for a moment.

She whirled around to see him but there was no one there. "Damn," she said. She heard the echo of his voice in the air.

"_Find me, Dreamwalker." _

She closed her eyes and concentrated. Then she took a few steps and stopped. Guitar music reached her ears. She opened her eyes and realized she was in an outdoor theater. Doug was onstage playing by himself. She walked up to the stage. "Doug," she called.

He looked up at her. "Julie?" Then his eyes lit up. "I must be dreaming."

"Bingo," she replied.

Doug sat on the edge of the stage the guitar balanced across his legs. "So why are you walking into here? Having a nightmare?" He grinned.

She walked up to the stage. "No nightmare. More like a fantasy."

"Uh-oh," he said, still smiling. "Does this involve your creepy guy?"

"What other man has been in my life recently?"

"None is what your mother tells me."

Julie sighed. "Thanks, Mom." Then she looked back at Doug. "I didn't see him, just heard and felt him."

Doug played the first phrase of "Let's Get it On". "What was he doing, feeling you up?"

She glared at him and he stopped playing. "Nothing so crude, thank you. He just held my hand for a moment. When I turned he was gone."

He held up a hand. "Am I gonna remember this in the morning?"

She thought for a moment. "Do you usually remember your dreams?"

"Not unless I'm getting some action."

She shook her head. "No way, not from me."

"Then shoo! Maybe a cute girl will appear in your place."

"Ouch, that went straight to my heart."

"Good. Go!"

She closed her eyes and concentrated again. This time when she opened them she found herself looking into a mirror. She looked around then back into the mirror. Suddenly her appearance seemed to dissolve and she let out a gasp of fright at the image that replaced it. A horribly burned face, a dirty brown fedora, red and green sweater, but he looked familiar. He grinned at her then opened his mouth and waggled his tongue invitingly. She shook her head and closed her eyes again.

Julie sat up in bed, gasping for air. She slowly held out a hand and watched it tremble. Sighing, she lay back down in bed and stared at the ceiling until a dreamless sleep fell over her.

_A/N: I do hope you like so far. I plan to continue though I would like to hear any comments or suggestions (or even questions) you have. :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N and disclaimer: I apologize for the brevity of this chapter. It didn't' quite fit at the end of the last one and the next chapter is going to be rather longer and it didn't seem to fit at the beginning of it either. So to make up for it I promise to update with another chapter within the week. Once again, I don't own Freddy or anything from the NOES universe. That belongs to Wes Craven. I do own Julie, Doug, Jay, Beverly, Joseph and this particular story idea. I hope you enjoy. _

* * *

"What!" Julie exclaimed.

"Shh! Lower your voice. We're in a library!" Doug hissed.

"Sorry, but are you serious?"

"That's what it says," Jay replied. "Krueger accused of murdering children of Springwood." He flicked through the microfiche. "It looks like the case went to trial."

"Great," Julie said, flopping into a chair. "I'm fantasizing about a child murderer."

"So what happened?" Doug asked.

"You're not gonna believe this."

"Don't tell me," Julie said, "he got off."

Jay looked at her, surprised. "How'd you guess?"

She groaned. "So what happened to him?"

Jay flicked through the microfiche again. "I don't know. There's nothing about him after that. The only thing of note is that a boiler room in an abandoned building caught fire one night."

Something about the mention of that tickled Julie's brain. She sat up. "That's connected to him somehow," she said.

Doug quickly wrote down the date. "August 25, 1967."

"You're kidding, right?" Julie asked, her face white.

"No mistake. Your birthday. But luckily a few years before your time," Doug replied.

"That's still weird."

"So who do we talk to?" Jay asked standing up and stretching.

Julie looked around. There was no one in this section. "How about the librarian?" she said, shrugging. The guys nodded and they packed up their materials and headed to the main desk.

"How can I help you?" the woman behind the counter asked politely.

Julie looked at Jay and Doug but neither seemed inclined to speak. She sighed inwardly. "We're curious about the boiler room fire back in 1967. Can you tell us what started it?"

The woman froze and a look of terror came into her eyes. "N-no. I don't know what happened. Nobody does!" Then she turned and walked into the office.

Julie stood there a moment then looked at the guys behind her. "That was weird."

"Let's try the general store," Jay suggested.

Julie nodded. "Okay. Let's go. On the way I'll tell you about the dream I had last night."

"Is this another sick fantasy, Julie?"

"Yes, and you're going to listen."


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N and disclaimer: As promised here is the longer chapter that the interlude didn't quite fit at the beginning of. I don't own Freddy or any of the NOES universe. The only things that are mine are Julie, Doug, Jay, Beverly, Joseph and this particular scenario. Enjoy. _

* * *

"No! Now get out!"

The trio hurried out of the third store they'd been in. Everyone had sent them away with a mixture of anger and fear. They walked down the street, a little dejected.

"He's insistent that we find him. Do you think he's a spirit trying to communicate with you?" Jay asked.

"Maybe. But I've never had one come through so clear."

"And this is the first one that you're found attractive," Doug grinned.

"That has nothing to do with it!" she replied, blushing. Suddenly Julie pointed to a building. "Let's try in there." She reached into her pocket. "How much money do you guys have?" They pooled together their cash and found it added up to about thirty dollars. She took it and put it in her pocket. "Come on," she said and dragged them into the bar.

Julie looked around and then walked up to the bar. "Excuse me," she said, smiling.

The bartender smiled back and walked over. "What can I get for you?"

"Just a glass of water for now. But maybe you can help me. I'm looking for someone who's lived here for a long time. I just moved here a couple of days ago and would like to talk about the history of the town." Julie smiled her best innocent smile.

The man nodded and pointed to a man sitting at a table by himself. "Joseph over there, he's lived here all his life. Spends most of his time in here. But if you want to know history, he's the guy to ask." He handed her a glass of water.

"Thanks," she said, taking it. "Come on, guys." Doug and Jay followed her over to Joseph's table. "Hi there," she said cheerfully. "I was told that you might be able to help me."

Joseph looked up at her and a slow smile crossed his face. Then he noticed Doug and Jay behind her and his smile faded a little. "What do you want with me?"

"First let me buy you a drink. What are you drinking?"

"Vodka."

Julie handed Doug some money. "Would you mind?"

"Not at all." He took it and walked up to the bar.

Julie and Jay sat down. "We were told you know the history of this town," Jay said.

"I ought to. Lived here all my life." He finished his drink and eyed the one Doug was bringing back. "What do you want to know?" he asked, taking the drink from Doug.

Julie waited until Doug pulled up a chair and joined them. "We were curious about the boiler room fire in '67." Julie watched him carefully, expecting to be thrown out. But Joseph leaned back and took a drink.

"No one's asked about that in a long time. Better that way. But he's been gone a long time. I don't think it'll hurt to tell you."

Julie took a sip of water and watched him closely. Joseph set down his glass and looked off into the distance. "It was right after Freddy was acquitted. Someone forgot to sign a search warrant in the right place and so they let him go." He took a drink. "He disappeared right after that but a bunch of folks, mainly from Elm Street tracked him down to that boiler room."

She gasped. "They didn't--?"

Joseph nodded. "They went in while he was asleep and doused the place with gasoline. Then they threw in a match."

Doug spoke up in horror. "They burned him alive?"

"Yep. Then when it was over Lt. Thompson took the remains and hid them so no one could ever prove they'd done it." He finished the drink and raised an eyebrow at Julie. She nodded and handed Jay money. Jay headed for the bar. "Talk to any of the folks that did it and they'll tell you that was the end of it."

"But?" she asked.

"But talk to the kids and they know something different. It started when Thompson's girl, Nancy, was in high school. There were three unexplained deaths, friends of hers who all lived on Elm Street. I spoke to Nancy once, asking her what she thought." Jay came over with the new drink and handed it to Joseph. "Thanks. She told me that Freddy Krueger was killing them in their dreams." He sighed. "I think she expected me to deny it. But I've seen some strange shit over the years. It was the only explanation. For six years it was quiet. I began to wonder if maybe she had just dreamed it up." He took a long drink. "Then there were a bunch of suicides and attempts. A number of kids were hospitalized at the old asylum. All from Elm Street. I talked to three of them when they got out."

"Freddy was back," Jay said.

Joseph nodded. "Four of the kids died right there in the asylum. Nancy was an intern there at the time. She told them how to fight Freddy. But in the end she died too. Supposedly one of the doctors got Thompson to show him where Freddy's remains were hidden. They buried him and consecrated him, hoping that his soul would rest. And it did for a year and a half."

"How do you know all this?" Doug interrupted.

Joseph smiled a wry smile. "I suppose because I'm the only one who would listen to them and not try to tell them it wasn't real. And because I saw him once in my dreams too."

Julie spoke up. "Horribly burned with a dirty brown hat and a red and green sweater."

"You've seen him too?" Joseph looked scared.

"Just a reflection in a mirror."

"Then you need to know the rest of the story." He took another drink. "A year and a half later all three survivors died. Then three more kids. One girl had been given the ability to pull people into her dreams. Freddy used her to get to the other kids. She tried to kill him. All the trapped souls were released. She and her new boyfriend both survived. Then came graduation. The girl began to have strange dreams about an asylum and a nun named Amanda Krueger. The night of graduation her boyfriend was in an accident. But she claimed Freddy had done it while she was awake. It was then she realized that she was pregnant."

"He was using the baby's dreams," Julie breathed.

"Exactly. Two more kids died until she released Amanda's trapped spirit to fight Freddy. But even at the end he was trying to claw his way out. Now this last bit I'm not sure about since I've only heard second hand about it."

"Go ahead," Jay said, leaning forward.

"Supposedly his daughter grew up and came back here for some reason. He used her to get out of Springwood. She fought him, brought him into our reality and supposedly killed him. But like I said, I'm not sure about that. I don't think he'll ever really die. Evil never does."

Julie closed her eyes and leaned back. "What happened at the asylum with Amanda?"

Joseph finished his drink. "She was locked in with the inmates over the holidays. They kept her hidden for days. They say she was raped hundreds of times. When the staff finally found her she was barely clinging to life. And she too was pregnant. They say she had the baby there and gave him up for adoption. The year after the fire she supposedly killed herself."

"Talk about a ghost story," Jay said, shaking his head.

"Do you know anything about him before he was burned? Like what happened to his wife?" Doug asked.

"They say he killed her and hid the body. But they never had any proof. It wasn't till they took his daughter away that he really began to murder the children. I guess it was revenge of sorts." He paused and looked at her curiously. "How did you find out about him?"

Julie opened her eyes. "I've been to house 1428. I found some things with his name on them."

Joseph's eyes narrowed. "That shouldn't be possible. He wasn't the last one that lived there. The Thompsons lived there after him. If anything you should have found some of their old things."

Julie reached into her pocket and pulled out the picture. "I also found this."

He examined the photograph for a minute, "That's the Kruegers. How it got there I don't know. Did you find anything else strange?"

"A child's bedroom with toys and drawings on the wall, some bills, and locks on all the cellar doors."

"Sounds like someone went through a lot of trouble to put those things in your path."

Doug leaned over. "Who might have done it?"

Joseph shrugged and leaned back. "I don't have a clue. No one around here wants to remember him anymore."

"Can you tell us anything else?" Julie asked.

"Just to warn you. If he comes back you should get away from here. He can't get to you outside of Springwood. At least, that's what they tell me. And be careful, if you die in those dreams it's for real."

"Let me buy you another drink as a thank you," Julie said, standing. Joseph smiled.

"Hey, for another drink I'll sit up and beg."

* * *

_A/N: This was an interesting bit to write since I had to summarize the entire series into one quick story. Just so you are aware of how I view the series: NOES 2 does not exist in my universe. I like to think of NOES 6 as rumor for the most part. New Nightmare only happened in the real world so it doesn't count and this was thought of long before FvJ so that doesn't exist in my canon either. I hope that clears things up. _


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N and disclaimer: So here is the next chapter. I warn you guys, this isn't the final version of this chapter but I felt the need to put it up here even so. Again, I don't' own Freddy or the NOES universe, just Julie, Jay, Doug, Beverly, and Joseph. Please enjoy and if you have feedback I'd be happy to hear it. _

* * *

Julie, Doug and Jay sat on the porch again, watching the sky grow dark. "Aren't you just a little scared now?"

"I know I am," Jay said looking at them. "I don't want that guy in my dreams."

Julie sighed. "It frightens me a little too. But his self before he was burned, I still feel drawn to him."

"You sound like you have a crush," Jay remarked.

She blushed. "I know it sounds silly but I think that part of his soul isn't evil."

"Hey, this guy is dead. I wasn't aware you were into necrophilia," Doug quipped.

Julie smacked his arm hard. "His spirit, you jerk. I'm not interested in his mortal remains."

Jay sat silent for a moment. "Guys, doesn't it strike you as a little too convenient that we found someone who knew so much about Freddy?"

"I chalked it up to dumb luck," Doug replied.

"I think Freddy is pushing to be found," she said. "I'll see if I can find him in my dreams tonight. Maybe I'll finally get some answers."

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Julie opened her eyes to find herself back at the Krueger house only the bedroom was clean and fresh. The night air blew in the window. Suddenly she felt very sleepy. Yawning, she walked over to the bed and flopped on top of it. She closed her eyes and dozed.

A knife blade came down and touched lightly on her knee. Julie did not stir. The blade trailed up her leg, pressing just hard enough to leave a light red mark in its wake. Julie smiled and kept her eyes closed. "I was hoping you'd come back," she said and rolled over. She opened her eyes and screamed. The burned Freddy laughed and pinned her shoulders to the bed.

"Thanks for resurrecting me, bitch." He leaned down and licked her cheek. "You have the honor of being my first in a long time." He raised his gloved hand. She squirmed and got her knees up to her chest. Quickly she planted her feet against his chest and pushed with all of her strength. Freddy fell back onto the floor. She leapt off the bed and ran for the door. Quickly she hurried downstairs. Once down she closed her eyes and concentrated on Jay then took a few steps. The floor changed to tile under her bare feet. She opened her eyes and found Jay standing over a pot on the stove. She ran to him.

"Jay! He's here! Freddy is here! Somehow we brought him back." There was a thumping from the other side of the kitchen door.

"What was that?" he asked, a little frightened.

She shook her head. "I don't know. I think it's him. We have to wake up right now!" She looked around then saw the pot of boiling water. "I'm sorry Jay, this is gonna hurt…" She took his hand and plunged both his and hers into the water. She screamed with pain…and sat up in bed.

"Julie!" Beverly came running in. "Are you okay?"

Julie hid her burned hand quickly. "I'm okay…just a nightmare."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, go back to sleep, Mom."

"Okay. But you call if you need anything." Beverly turned and walked back down the hall. Julie leapt out of bed, holding her hand gingerly in front of her. Quickly she hurried downstairs to the living room where Jay and Doug were sitting up, both wide awake.

"Jay, are you okay?" she asked holding out her burned hand for them to see. Jay held out his. "I'm sorry, hon. I couldn't think of any other way." She went over to the aloe plant and broke off two leaves. She came back over and handed him one before sitting down.

Doug looked at the two of them. "So you both saw him?"

Julie shook her head, rubbing aloe juice on her hand. "He was in mine. I ran into Jay's and I think he followed."

"How did he come back?"

"He said we resurrected him. I don't know what that means. How did we find him?"

Jay looked solemn. "I think I know." Julie and Doug looked at him curiously. He went on. "All the interest we've devoted to this haunted house. All the questions we asked. We stirred up a lot of belief. And I hate to say it, but you were already believing in him, Julie."

She nodded. "I know. This is mainly my fault."

"No one's looking to place the blame," Doug said, taking her good hand in his. "You didn't ask for him to start coming into your dreams."

"But I listened to him, even wanted him to come into them," she said, misery in her voice. "He told me to find him. And I did. Now he's loose and I have no idea how to close him up again." She looked from one to the other. "Any ideas?"

Jay studied the floor for a moment. "Well, I don't think killing him would work. He seems to be able to come back no matter what."

"So we find a way to bind him," Doug said. "That way he can't escape. At least not before we get out of here."

"What am I gonna tell my mother?" Julie said, head in her hands.

"Don't tell her anything," Doug said. "He's only come after kids, not adults."

"There's a first time for everything," she said morosely. "Well, I'm not tired anymore. How about you guys?"

Jay shook his head and so did Doug. Julie smiled. "How does a movie sound?"

"Sounds like the perfect thing for would-be insomniacs," Jay said, smiling


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N and usual disclaimer: Yes! I finally got this part rewritten to where I'm happier with it. I hope you all enjoy. We are fast approaching the part of the story where I have a gap with nothing written. Hopefully I get some good inspiration that links the parts of my story together before then. As usual, I don't own Freddy or the NOES universe. Wes Craven still has that honor. I do own Julie, Doug, Jay, Beverly and Joseph and this particular idea of mine. Please keep up the reviews. They keep me going lately. :)_

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Julie's head titled downward as she dozed off on the end of the couch. As her chin touched her chest she jerked back awake. Sleepily she rubbed her eyes and looked beside her to chastise her friends for letting her fall asleep. Doug and Jay were gone. "Guys?" she said, standing up. Julie looked around the living room, listening to the silence of the house. She sat down preparing to pull on her boots to go look outside for them. As she leaned forward she noticed a note lying on the table. Curious she set her boot back down, picked it up. It was short and had no signature.

_Turn on the television, my Dreamwalker._

"Freddy," she whispered, for his unburned self was the only one who called her by that name. "I'm dreaming." Curious now, she reached out for the remote and hit the power button. The screen slowly lit up and she found herself watching what appeared to be a movie of sorts. It had a grainy quality to it as though it was a bit older but the picture was still clear. The image on the screen held no meaning for her. A girl in nightgown running through a hallway. It wasn't until she heard a very familiar sound that she sat up, suddenly paying attention. It was a sound that went with an image. A sound that raised goosebumps, not of fear but or something else. It was the sound of knives scraping along metal. Sure enough, a few moments later there was a shape that she had only seen in her dreams. Freddy. The movie seemed to pass in a blur but somehow she memorized every detail.

Four more movies went by the same way. Never did a title or credits of any kind ever appear. The movies simply seemed to blend seamlessly with one another though she could tell that there were gaps in timeline between them. In the fourth one she saw Freddy's unburned face for just a few moments. She caught more of him the in last one as well as images of his wife and daughter. She felt a slight twinge of jealousy watching the movies which amused her. The films did confirm what Joseph had told them and went into a bit more detail. After his death at his daughter's hand the screen went black. She sat, still staring at the blank screen for a few seconds. The her eyes caught movement on the table. The note had shifted as though caught in a light draft though there was air movement that she could notice. She started to lean back till she realized that the words written on it were not the same she had read at the beginning of this dream.

_Now you know more of the story, my Dreamwalker. Perhaps this will help._

"Help with what?" she wondered out loud. "Help with fighting you?" Suddenly she was jolted awake by a hand closing on her shoulder. She turned her head sharply, expecting to see Freddy's burned visage behind her but instead saw Doug and Jay staring at her with concern in their faces. She held up a hand. "I'm fine. I didn't see him. But you'll never guess what I did see."

"The Dali Lama?" Doug asked grinning.

"No, you goof. I dreamt that I saw five movies. Movies about Freddy."

"Five movies? You were only out for ten minutes," Doug said.

"You mean, you saw movies about what happened?"

"The whole thing. Well, at least the part where he started coming into dreams."

"How?" Jay asked.

She looked at them, then at her hands which were folded in her lap. "I think it was the unburned part of him. The one that I dream about."

"How can you be so sure about that? How do you know he's not just using you to get to others?"

"I can't explain it but I didn't feel anything like that. I felt something else, like he wants to help."

Doug looked at Jay, then her. "Well, tell us what happened."

"It happened pretty much like Joseph said. The only thing I can add is how he killed each one."

"You saw each death?"

She nodded. "It wasn't pretty. And to make matters worse he has a grim sense of humor."

"How bad," Doug asked.

"Worse than yours," she replied. She reached into her nightshirt pocket and pulled out the picture of the Kruegers. Doug pointed to it.

"You sleep with that thing?"

"Um…yeah…" she blushed bright red.

Doug folded his arms and looked at her sternly. "You know, we're supposed to be fighting this guy, not having romantic fantasies about him."

"Hey, I can't help what I dream," she said, trying to defend herself.

"No," Jay said, "but you do have better control over it than the average person."

She sighed. "Like I said, I don't think that part of his spirit is evil. So I wanted to dream about him. Is that a crime?"

"No, it's usually not. But you're special, Julie. You can dreamwalk and control your dreams. You have to have greater control over your desires."

"You sound like the dream police."

Doug leaned forward. "In this case we have to be. Out of all of us you have the best chance of fighting him."

"You mean I'm in this alone?"

"Not at all," Doug replied. "But if you need us you can walk into our dreams. The only bad thing is that he can follow."

"So it would be best if I stayed out of everyone's dreams, just in case, right?" she asked angrily.

"Until we bind him," Jay said, taking her unburned hand. "I think it would be the best idea. If you can't go, he can't follow."

"What if he gets to you on his own?"

"In that case we'll call for help. You've always been able to hear us before," Doug said, patting her arm.

Julie sighed again and put the picture back in her pocket. "Tomorrow I'm going to try to reach his spirit. Maybe I can talk to him. Get him to stop."

"Good luck," Jay and Doug said in unison. "Try to keep your hormones to yourself," Doug added, smiling.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N and disclaimer: Wow, an update after over three years. I'm somewhat proud even if this is a short chapter. Enjoy and with any luck the next chapter will be written quicker than this one. I own nothing of course except the characters of Beverly, Julie, Jay, Doug and Joseph. _

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In a small, slightly run-down house across town Joseph was leaning back in a faded arm chair and his eyes closed as the alcohol finally took him into sleep. The bottle that was still clutched in his hand remained balanced on the arm of the chair even as his breathing slowed and evened out. It was the sound of the television suddenly turning itself on that managed to wake him. "What th' hell?" he said, lifting his head back up to glance over at the offending piece of equipment. All traces of drunken sleepiness disappeared in a cold shiver of fear as he saw the silhouette of the person in front of the television.

"Evening, Joseph."

Fear coursed through Joseph as he knew without a doubt who was there. Though he had never heard the man speak, no one else could sound so evil with only two words. He sat up a little straighter, swallowed and then tried to pull up what courage he had left. "I knew you'd come eventually," he said, not taking his eyes off of Freddy. "What took you so long?"

"My own reasons. You needed to serve a purpose."

Joseph was confused. "What purpose? To be the town drunk? To be looked down on by the entire town where I've spent my life?"

Freddy laughed and moved to sit on the television. "Ha! Every town needs someone that they can feel better than. You took over that role that I used to hold." He grinned and clicked his claws together for a moment. "But you did something more important than that. You listened and remembered."

It took a moment for the words to sink in but when they did Joseph's eyes widened and he gasped. "The children," he whispered.

"That's right! My children. You listened to their stories even though not a single other adult in Springwood believed them."

Joseph shook his head in disbelief. "I don't think I believed them either at the time. But I knew Nancy from when she was little."

"Ah Nancy," Freddy said, his voice almost purring. "That little bitch held on longer than I gave her credit for. Too bad she was such a gullible kid."

Remembering the bottle in his hand, Joseph took a drink and nodded. "I was at her funeral. It was a closed casket but I knew then she'd been telling the truth." It had been a hard day for him, finally accepting that everything Nancy had told him was indeed the truth. There was no other way to explain her early death. But that still didn't explain the purpose Freddy had mentioned, unless… Joseph shivered. "You meant for me to tell that history to someone."

Freddy laughed, the manic sound echoing through the house. "Not just someone, Joe, to the one person who could actually give me a challenge."

Joseph remembered the three people, not much older than kids, who had come to talk to him in the bar. Two men and a young woman. They had been so insistent on learning what they could about the boiler room fire and Fred Krueger, the woman in particular. Hadn't she mentioned that she had seen an image of Freddy in her dreams?

Had the simple retelling of history brought this nightmare back to Springwood?

His face must have shown his thoughts more clearly than he knew. Freddy stood and sauntered over to pat him on the head with his gloved hand, the blades very close to Joseph's ear. "Oh, don't worry. Your little storytelling session didn't bring me back. You just passed it on to the right person. It was you, Joe, that kept me alive all these years in your own memory." With that statement he broke into another bout of hysterical laughter.

_I did this…_Joseph thought, his heart sinking. _Because of me the killings will start again. And I delivered three more kids to him, as if I'd put them on a silver platter._ The guilt set in and he knew that it would never go away, not even if he lived through this night. He tried to rally and looked up at Freddy, his expression defiant. "So you can't kill me. You need me to make sure there's someone who will remember you."

"And they say I have a massive ego." Freddy laughed and walked toward the door that led to one of the bedrooms. "After I'm done here, there's not a single soul in Springwood that will be able to forget me." A knocking on the other side of the door made Joseph jump slightly and Freddy grinned. "So I don't need you anymore. But there's someone here who'd like to see you again." As the knocking became so loud that Joseph wanted to cover his ears Freddy opened the door and Joseph cried out in terror, pushing himself as far back into the chair as he could get.

"Why didn't you believe me, Joseph?" the corpse of Nancy Thompson asked him, reaching out.

"No…I didn't kill you, Nancy," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't know until you died that he was real."

The corpse shuffled toward him, still reaching out and seeming to not hear him. "Why? I could still be alive, Joseph."

Fear paralyzed him and he found that all he could do was shake his head and tremble. The corpse finally came close enough to touch him and did so, still asking her question in that wavering familiar voice. The fright was too much for Joseph's overtaxed heart and he felt the pain shoot through his chest and left arm. "I didn't mean to," he managed to gasp as he felt blackness taking over.

As he struggled for his last few breaths, the corpse disappeared and there was Freddy, leaning close to him. "You know what the road to hell is paved with, Joe. Now die like a good little boy so Daddy can go play."

In the world outside of dreams Joseph's hand slackened and let go of the bottle of vodka. It hit the floor with a dull thunk, the last of it spilling out to soak into the carpet. Wishing he'd left Springwood years ago or drunk himself to death earlier, Joseph, drunk and town legend keeper, died.


End file.
